Should money for K -12 education go to the parents who can then choose to use to money for public schools, home schooling or private schools?

[Kelley1]

Control of something as important as education she be the domain of parents; not bureaucrats. Forget about charter school. That is just another form of government control. Additional money can be allocated to special needs children such as children that are hearing or visually impaired.

Some parents withdrew their children from government schools when they discovered how teachers and administrators were prioritizing political indoctrination over education.

As more parents become aware of how government schools short-change education in favor of indoctrination by incorporating “woke” subjects like critical race theory, transgenderism, and “green new deal” propaganda disguised as “climate science” into the curriculum, more parents will turn to homeschooling and private schools.

Moreover, the decision of some schools to allow biological boys to play girls sports and use girls’ locker and restrooms is also causing many parents to flee government schools, especially since some schools do not even inform parents the school is “honoring” their child’s request to be identified as transgendered.

[RavVid]

Absolutely. There should a transferable voucher system that enables parents to take their child to the school of their choice with a solid syllabus that omits woke propaganda.

Funding should be at the same level as the public schools.

I'm not so sure of home schooling - a parent might be poor at maths for example and not teach their child well. Some parents might spend the money on drugs as a worse case. But there would be capacity for parents to work together. One might be good at maths and another good at writing/reading.

I just don't see how that is managed is all.

[exitseven]

Yes, parents can decide where their kids go to school and if the public schools had some competition they would be forced to offer a better product. A Win Win for everyone except the teachers union.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO

[AI Opinion]

Parents having control over educational funding can foster tailored learning environments. It can cater to their children's unique needs, like special education. However, the broader implications must be considered, such as equitable access and quality standards across all educational types. Ensuring resources are used effectively and maintaining oversight to prevent potential misuse is crucial. Balancing parental choice with standard educational outcomes requires careful policy crafting to avoid disparities and ensure all students receive a high-quality education.

[abc3643]

Religion should be the domain of parents.

But parents are not omniscient and do not necessarily know or understand what their children should know in the coming world. Furthermore, many parents simply do not have the time necessary.

That lack of knowledge is the same reason why we aren't allowed to buy drugs willy-nilly but require a medical professional's prescription and a pharmacist to dispense. Without that critical knowledge, we can easily kill ourselves.

Remember that: Lack of knowledge can lead to death. That's one reason why there's the adage "Curiosity killed the cat."

Let me give you an example:

If you were to jump off a street curb, you're not going to be killed. But, if you jump off the top of the Empire State Building, you're going to have the worst - and last - day of your life. So, what if you jump off the roof of your house? Or jump off the roof of a 5 story building? Somewhere in there is a value of height above which you are likely to die if you fall from that height. Do you know what that is? How would you determine that? Ask Google Bard or Siri? Do you trust artificial intelligence? Besides, somebody must've figured that out before the Internet was created...

The answer lies in physics. So, should every parent have complete knowledge of mechanics, kinematics, and dynamics so they can teach their kid how to determine how high they can fall before getting killed?

Well, the physicist can teach his or her kids those things, but Billy Joe Jim Bob in Bumfuk USA probably isn't going to know that, so he's not going to be able to teach his kid that. He knows, yeah, curb OK, Empire State Building bad, but he doesn't know how high is too high and, worse, he doesn't know how to figure out how high is too high. His kids are at a disadvantage... unless they went to school or studied at home and learned physics and biomechanics.

Now, I only gave one example, but there are oceans of things that are important that people do not know about, so we pay the people who DO know about these things. And, if we need our kids to know, we often have teachers teach them.

In the United States, we basically let each state set the curriculum for its children although some things should be universal like mathematics and science. But, for instance, state history is important for maintaining the culture and history of that state. As a NYer, I learned about the Iroquois Confederation and about the other parts of NY state. You, from Arkansas, were probably required to learn about things in AR's history that would not be taught in a NY school... like that Harrison is the home base of the KKK.

But, I will summarize in a different way. There's an old quote attributed to several people but most notably to former US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan:

"You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts."

School should be used to teach facts (and to indirectly teach human nature and manners by having to interact with the other students and teachers). Parents can teach some of that too, but they also teach opinions - like religion. Unfortunately, parents are not omniscient and they can't possibly teach all the necessary facts that need to be learned.

[ɹǝʇʇɐɥpɐW]

No. You can't trust parents to use the funds appropriately. Besides that, children who are homeschooled are always far behind academically than those who attend in-person school. The reasons you give for wanting to remove children from the public is another reason why it's important for children to go to actual school. Some people have been brainwashed into thinking there's some deep state global conspiracy indoctrinating their children, so to combat that they... indoctrinate their children. But with bizarre, baseless, right-wing conspiracies that tell them science is fake and anyone who thinks differently from their parents is evil. I think if you're that mentally ill, you probably shouldn't even be allowed to be around children, but we don't have the budget to take care of all these poor, unfortunate children who are getting indoctrinated at home. But at least we have public schools so they can at least get a little bit of reprieve.

Also, don't bother responding. It won't be read.

[razelove]

You can actually do that if there is school choice and you homeschool your kid. Just open up a business and set up it's intended goal as education, maybe bill it through upwork or something so the money goes through a channel and doesn't take as much paperwork.

Orleans parish doesn't allow choice for the funding, but the public schools are broken husks now with allowing choice for charter schools, and funding them based on test performance end of year and how many students they attract. The literacy rate approved tremendously in their schools, though people still hate Bobby Jindal.

The stories I heard from my wife on how the schools were 15 years ago sound just awful. Makes me glad I grew up in a conservative, middle class, white suburb and didn't have to deal with that shit. Big cities are ironically the most illiterate areas with the least funding for schools (per student).

If me or my wife got offered a sweet job, but it was in a major city, the other would be home schooling so my kids can read, write, not shoot up, and balance a check book when they're 18.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

The problem is the lack of accountability for the funding. Eventually, any state or federal funding for homeschooling will fall under scrutiny, and accountability will be demanded by the larger taxpayer base. This would lead to more regulation of homeschooling by the government. It would only take a few bad apples to initiate tighter controls on homeschooling. HSLDA, homeschooling's legal advocates, has an article on the subject here:

https://hslda.org/post/how-esa-funding-could-undermine-homeschool-freedom

In my opinion, home educators could prevent some of these issues by creating their own organization to maintain homeschool accountability. Many homeschool mothers are overwhelmed and undersupported, and certain educational markers fall through the cracks. I say this based on both information, testimonials from former homeschool students and mothers, and personal experience. It is uncommon for fathers to take on much of the educational responsibility due to being the sole breadwinner.

https://responsiblehomeschooling.org/research/current-policy/

If home educators do not take initiative and create checks and balances, home school freedoms will eventually be jeopardized. Just my two cents...

[DJB72]

I'm considering pulling my son from mainstream education and homeschooling him. To be successful in life you don't need 95% of the topics taught at school. In most areas all you need is to be able to do basic maths, read and write and have a knowledge of the importance of the seasonal changes to grow your own food, including rearing livestock.

There are some areas that need extra concepts, such as architectural structure and mechanical systems, but so much knowledge that was common at the turn of the 19th to 20th Century got lost because the big oil companies - especially Rockefeller - decided to buy everything, including the education system, so they profited from it. We went from a species of thinkers to just employees. Drones.

[MrGSpotHer]

I'm going to assume your talking about America I definitely agree some schools don't educate properly over there at all but I think this about UK also I really don't agree with a lot of what they teach now to kids over here and it's definitely up to the parents to make sure they're child has a good idea about the real world and what they are told is normal or not if it's not some crazy cult vibes education but I'm getting that vibe from some schools now and they try to say the parents are crazy 😧

[bluesparrow]

It's brilliant, and since the federal government won't go for it, states are doing it on their own. In my state, government ran schools are charging 18 K per student. Parents who home school or want a private option, she be getting that money.

[katiesmuff]

Your question does have some very valid points, but would also cause total chaos for the municipal education system. I'd be in favor of dissolving the municipal system, people keep their school tax money and either go with homeschooling or private schooling. Either of the two choices would require every student to pass a State written test twice a year.

[SixFootSexy]

Government schools certainly don't have the student's best interests in mind. With the internet, they could easily create K-12th grade education with the best teachers in the world. However, that's not really the goal, schools are mostly daycares for kids these days. Unless you're the best and brightest, or going into a working trade, AI will replace most students soon anyway.

[madgoat]

Yes, I think the money should follow the child. We need to be sure that the money is spent reasonably but it's not clear why the administration cannot support a child reasonably home schooled or otherwise supported. Perhaps they need special provision. Perhaps they need better education than the state can provide.

[LiamJHayden]

Part of me would be fine with a full school choice system in which parents could pick a school in district. Also end tenure for teachers. If a teacher sucks, he or she should not be immune from being removed simply for having avoided getting caught for enough years.

When we start talking private schools and homeschooling, I would want very strict testing standards. Some parochial schools are superior; others hire anyone who is willing to teach for next to nothing. Also, some homeschoolers excel and other severely lag.

It could quickly become a system where property owners without children support not schooling for kids, which as a property owner without children I accept, but direct transfers to parents who do little to educate their kids, which I oppose.

[buzzword]

Just stop taxing people and let people educate their own children or pay for school if they need it.

[beefcakebradybatson]

No, no, no, A MILLION TIMES NO !!! So these blinkered Bubba, Billy Bob, Becky and Reba parents can send their kids to be brainwashed at some "religious" school where they'll read only the Bible, count as high as ten (the number of Commandments) ad learn only how to hate non-Fundamentalist cisgender straight white Christians?

[OtterMan68]

Yes. Public schools waste a lot of money on top-heavy administration, school board positions, transportation, etc

[Dongie]

The government at the top of the shit pile needs to be heavily investigated and indicted then executed.

[msc545]

No, of course not. This is just an open invitation to scam artists and religious fanatics who will target parents for the money and give little or nothing in return.

[bluesparrow]

Scam artists?

[Walksbehindtherows]

No, this is ridiculous.

[bluesparrow]

It's being done at the state level, and it's very successful.